Eat Your Words

by Taylor Riley Parham

While on a flight to New York, Riley Bennett never imagined she’d find herself in the heart of the city's culinary scene under a false identity. When her boss, Chef Spears, is overbooked, Riley is thrust into the spotlight, tasked with stepping in for a high-profile restaurant interview. To impress Eden Turner, a beautiful writer she meets on the plane, Riley impulsively claims she is Chef Spears.

Upon landing, Riley’s deception takes a thrilling twist when Eden reveals she’s the one writing the article on the restaurant. Encouraged by friends to "fake it ‘till she makes it," Riley dives into the role, determined to keep up the charade.

As she navigates the high-stakes world of gourmet cuisine, Riley and Eden's connection deepens, sharing intimate moments and exquisite meals. But with each passing day, the pressure to maintain the lie grows. Will Riley’s charade unravel, risking her career and new romance, or can she keep the fun going and enjoy the ride?

"Eat Your Words" is a charming rom-com that keeps you on your toes.

Genres: Queer, Romance, Lesbian

197 pages, Paperback

Published September 18, 2024

Reviews

[CeeC.Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good sapphic REALISTIC romance !
I wish the ending was a bit more but it doesn’t take away from the greatness of the plot !

[ellie 🫧 . · Rating 4 out of 5]

the only reason this book isn’t a 5 star for me is because of how short it was ! it was a good book to get me out of my little reading slump that i’ve been in but i wanted more ! i wanted more Eden pov’s, more time for the characters to develop that connection with each other, like duh its only for a week but still i needed MORE ! other than me just wanting a few more chapters, it was a really good book !

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Nice quick read. I enjoyed this. Young chef just trying to make it big. Some insta love vibes. 3x spicy scenes. 2x POVs. First person. False identity. Tension.

[Kenzie Scholer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into this book looking for one thing, and I came out with all of that and more. This was such a quick, enjoyable read

[Taishayla Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book posted on Tik Tok and I wanted to support a new author who was also in the LGBTQ+ community. I enjoyed every page! Not only did the author explain the development of the characters but there was also a happy ending. The level of spice was probably 3/5 but it was the perfect amount for this small read.

[hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“she is a force to be reckoned with, and i, for one, am excited to watch her rise to even greater heights.”

[mars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but basic

[ellie ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 🌟 this was a cute and quick read (don’t look at the dates read🫣 I read 80% of it at work today), I wasn’t obsessed or anything but it was a good time overall!

[kitlyn s · Rating 1 out of 5]

there’s a lot to unpack here. i usually give super detailed reviews but i can’t even formulate the words for what in the world i just read. first of all, the dialogue and book in general reads like the ones you’d see on wattpad during quarantine. the main character is meant to be an adult but has the vocabulary of a prepubescent teenage boy and that drove me nuts, as do some of the side characters. we also don’t learn very much about our two main characters in general. one’s a chef and one’s an editor. that’s about all i can tell you. also, editor goes from the chef basically being the bane of her existence to apologizing for her rude behavior towards her in a matter of a few days? the book also has perspective switches and is written in first person, but for eden’s character, the editor and the love interest i would even go so far as to call her, we’re not given much of her inner monologue to work with. the ending is incredibly rushed and throughout the book in general, details aren’t put where they are surely needed. the smut scenes weren’t too bad, though one of them had me cringing and it was a battle to get past it. pacing is also a major issue here. it’s unrealistic in my opinion for all of this madness to have occurred in the span of a week. also, THE GRAMMAR? the lack of commas? capitalizing words in the middle of sentences that aren’t proper nouns? not knowing when to use a semicolon? not putting a period where a period is needed? the typos? and the formatting! i was tempted to dnf this book several times but just prayed it’d get better and it never did. some serious proof reading and more adequate character development needs to happen next time. pacing is also a major problem here. but hey, at least the grammar mistakes and wattpad dialogue kind of cracked me up, right?

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️
I was really intrigued by the premise of this novella, but it just didn’t really do it for me at all.
I just didn’t really feel any chemistry between the two main characters, and it made the romance completely fall flat.

I think the story could have improved a lot by being a longer novel, so the story could be better fleshed out, but as it stands right now everything just felt too rushed. The initial spice scene felt like it came out of nowhere, to the point i was convinced it was going to be an intense, horny day dream but no. it really did just happen like that. There’s also a lot of frankly bizarre decisions when it comes to scenes that are and aren’t included. The first few chapters felt like they could have been condensed down without losing much, and honestly Eden’s POV was so infrequent that i think it could have been cut all together. but then the major conflict of the story happens entirely off-page, in between chapters, and and there’s literally no reconciliation afterwards, just an epilogue 8 months that tells us the two main characters are supposedly together. That being said, I really do think all of this could have worked a lot better if this was a full novel and not just a novella, pretty much every scene would have improved by being more fleshed out.

There’s also quite a few noticeable editing issues, the formatting especially could have had some improvements (i read on kindle, so the paperback might be okay) but it wasn’t so egregious that it was unreadable. Despite my criticisms, I do think this author has interesting ideas, and i think i’d be willing to give her another try especially in a longer format.

[molly jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a fun read!

if you’re looking for a fun short read, this is definitely one i would recommend! i have been meaning to read the little meet-cute series since i saw the two of them posted about on tik tok and i’m not disappointed! the fun little nods to pop culture references were cute and the romance was great! as much as i love a slowburn, it was nice to have something fast paced! also the concept of getting to read the meet cute aspect of a relationship was lovely! left me wanting to read more of their story! can’t wait to read the next in the series!

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please, please hire an editor. This reads like a fourth grade language arts project that the author forgot about the night before it was due. Disregarding the run-on sentences, repetitious cliches, and confusing point of view switches, the actual smut content is fine. The "masc" character's chapters make her sound like a psychopath. I'm surprised she didn't murder the MC. If you like AO3 content this is fine I suppose. Not for me.

[Lesbotron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be a little closer to 3.75 but overall this was a short, cute read that didn’t ask for too much. It was light, fun and the spicy bits were cool, too! The only thing I’ll say is that the food she described did not, to me, seem earth shattering enough to do aladat, but overall the mains were likable and the chemistry was fannnnntastic!

[KeeKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found out about this book from TikTok. I love reading about WlW books. I love the detail of the story and the positivity ending. However I felt the ending was rushed and wanted more.I also felt we shouldn’t had got more Eden pov. I will like to add the very detail in the cooking was amazing. I was able to picture the scene as reading. I will be reading this again.

[Airess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, quick sapphic rom-com that I flew through. The story itself was pretty predictable and nothing really stood out as particularly memorable, but it was still an enjoyable read.

The spice level was very tolerable—just enough without being overdone—and overall this felt like a good palate cleanser between heavier or more emotional books. Solid, light, and easy.

[Katy Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from TikTok and now want to explore more of this author’s work! This was such a cute, easy, quick read that had me giggling and raising my own eyebrows at times. These characters had such great chemistry and their relationship was so fun to read!

[Storie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eat your words is a charming quick read with characters you can enjoy. I think there were some missed opportunities to elaborate in details and stretch out certain scenes. For example, how did Eden and Riley reconnect? However, it was still a good read.

[Nyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Figured out the plot way too soon. It was a decent story but it spent too much time detailing characters that ended up not being important. The ending felt rushed. I wish there was more.

[Shenelle Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This book had me hooked from start to finish. It was so good I finished it in one day. Can’t wait to read more!

[Kirareadss · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was cute

[Jackie Marotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the whole thing in like two hours, no complaints it was cute and corny and a nice quick and cozy read!

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first WLW romance it was really good, even though it was just a novella. Strongly enjoyed and can't wait to read the second book.

[Deirdre Megan Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this quick romance.

[Candace Aresfury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, it’s cute and quick, nothing special. Not a read again for me but that’s ok.

[Chelsea Andrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Finished in one day! Such a fun read

[Claude Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was mediocre but I do appreciate that toys and bondage were involved :)

[Bre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give a 3.5 😭 it just felt so rushed. I want more time with the characters lol

[kirareadsss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

[Isabella Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love you. For a short book, I actually really liked the plot. The spice though… I needed more

[McKenzie Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun little novella. A light case of mistaken identity turns into the adventure of a lifetime! It’s playful, flirty, and a super quick read—perfect for when you want something sweet and breezy.